Booher: High school football coaches strike the right tone

High school football mentors show they have priorities in order in heat of playoff run

Kary BOOHER Kary Booher. Nathan Papes/News-Leader

This goes out to Camdenton football coach Jeff Shore. And to Hillcrest coach John Beckham and Parkview's Anthony Hays.

The adage is that head football coaches get all the praise for winning but all the blame for losing.

Which is understandable but unfair, since it casts coaches as robotic, as if they're here only to spit out Xs and Os and churn out wins.

So how encouraging it was to see Monday night that Shore, Beckham and Hays prove again that the game is bigger than them, that the cause is what's important.

After beating Lebanon and reaching the Class 5 quarterfinals, Shore asked us media guys to wait. Not to do a postgame radio show. But to find his wife.

A hug was in order.

More importantly, he directed his team to walk straight to the bus for a quick drive home. Shore believed the District 4 trophy should be hoisted at Camdenton, for all the town to enjoy.

Meanwhile in Webb City, where Hillcrest took yet another playoff loss on the chin, Beckham struck the right tone.

These quotes appeared in the paper the next day: "We've accomplished a lot but we're not there yet," and "Hopefully Webb City hasn't seen the last of us, and we'll just keep trying. Keep trying to get better."

It was the perfect message and the best format, too. Saying it in the locker room is nice. But there's nothing like putting it in print, where the words don't get swept away with the wind.

His players need to hear that, need to see it posted in the weight room. The Hornets have a nice thing going and are oh-so-close to cementing Hillcrest as the city's premier football program.

Meanwhile, Parkview has a chance to become something even better, too. That is, if the Vikings don't let this past season - an 8-3 record just a few years after that terrible losing streak - become a footnote.

Credit Hays for issuing a challenge after Parkview's blowout, season-ending loss to Lee's Summit West. Our paper reported Hays called for dedication to offseason conditioning and - best of all - that players must believe in themselves.

What great bulletin-board material in the locker room, or even taped inside a school locker. It's a subtle nod to players that he doesn't see them as kids but as teens - a big, big difference - and responsible for keeping Parkview football on the right track.

With that, on to the forecast, written while the Missouri State Bears football team apparently kicks back in a hammock this Saturday thanks to rare November bye week. Note that all rankings are from BCS standings.

Rocky Top division: Tennessee over Mizzou

Old Coach Gene Stallings Bowl: No. 1 Alabama over No. 15 Texas A&M

OK, I'm On the Bandwagon division: No. 2 Kansas State over Texas Christian

Track Meet division: No. 3 Oregon over California, West Virginia over Oklahoma State

Still Not Buying the Irish division: No. 4 Notre Dame over Boston College

Why Not division: Iowa over Purdue, Wisconsin over Indiana, Minnesota over Illinois.

And in the NFL: 49ers over Rams, Steelers over Chiefs, Falcons over Saints, Lions over Vikings, Broncos over Panthers, Buccanneers over Chargers, Titans over Dolphins, Patriots over Bills, Ravens over Raiders, Bengals over Giants, Seahawks over Jets, Cowboys over Eagles, Bears over Texans.